The Times Advocate, 2007-11-28, Page 3Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Times–Advocate
3
Communities in Bloom instills pride
By Scott Nixon
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
EXETER — "To me, it's about community pride."
That's how Gerald Reycraft of Southwest Middlesex
describes the Communities in Bloom program that his
municipality has been involved with since 2004.
Reycraft, facilities and recreation manager for
Southwest Middlesex as well as a member of the
Communities in Bloom committee, spoke to Exeter's
Communities in Bloom group at a meeting Nov. 21.
Committee member and South
Huron Coun. Cathy Seip invited
Reycraft to speak in Exeter and pass
along what he has learned about
Communities in Bloom over the past
few years.
Communities in Bloom is new to
South Huron and the committee
intends to enter Exeter into the com-
petition in 2008. Communities in
Bloom is described as a "volunteer
based, non-profit organization com-
mitted to fostering civic pride, envi-
ronmental responsibility and beautifi-
cation through community participa-
tion." Communities are judged against
other communities of similar popula-
tion and are awarded one to five
"Blooms." Communities are judged in
the following categories: floral dis-
plays, landscapes, turf, urban forestry,
community involvement, heritage con-
servation, environmental awareness
and tidiness.
Southwest Middlesex has had suc-
cess since entering the competition in
2004. The municipality, which
includes the towns of Glencoe and
Wardsville, was awarded three
Blooms in 2004, improving to four
Blooms in 2005 and also picking up
the most improved and floral awards.
In 2006 and 2007, the municipality
was awarded the full five Blooms,
winning the environmental awareness
award last year and the tidiness
award this year.
In Southwest Middlesex, the entire
municipality is included in
Communities in Bloom, while local
efforts will concentrate on Exeter at
first, with the hope it will eventually
spread throughout South Huron.
Reycraft said every year Southwest
Middlesex budgets for $10,000 in
expenses, with $5,000 in revenues
through fundraising efforts.
Involvement in Communities in
Bloom takes a lot of work, Reycraft
explained. He said Southwest
Middlesex's deputy clerk "does a won-
derful job" on the committee and in
2005 spent 230 hours of her own time
working on that community's
Communities in Bloom book (each
community that enters must produce
a book containing pictures and infor-
mation about their municipality for
the judges to look at). Reycraft volun-
teers to water the plants in Glencoe,
getting up at 3:30 a.m. and then doing
his full day shift for the municipality.
He said it is important for the com-
mittee to take before and after pic-
tures of everything they do.
The entry fee for Communities in
Bloom is based on population, so
Exeter's fee would be $450, Reycraft
said.
Reycraft said Exeter's Main Street
impressed him and he described
MacNaughton Park as "beautiful."
One of the things Southwest
Middlesex does each year is to hold a
welcoming barbecue for the
Communities in Bloom judges.
Reycraft said it's also a way to say
thanks to the service clubs and to
those who helped with Communities
Correction
In last week's edition of the Exeter
T -A in a story titled "Crack and
ecstacy problem in Exeter," the T -A
was given incorrect information
regarding a job title. The unnamed
officer quoted is actually a Huron
County drug enforcement officer.
in Bloom throughout the year. The judges are then dri-
ven through the municipality for the judging.
He also encouraged the Exeter committee to see if
there are any grants available from Huron County. He
recommended the Exeter group choose two committee
chairpersons to meet with the judges.
The Exeter committee is scheduled to meet again Dec.
12 at 4 p.m. at South Huron Rec Centre. Anyone inter-
ested in more information can call Cathy Seip at 235-
2828.
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